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Guests
constantly visit my study and though I talk to them, sometimes quite loudly,
they are strangely invisible to everyone else. One frequent visitor is
my father. His presence helps me prepare speeches. When the ideas flow
too slowly or I find myself struggling to memorize a difficult paragraph,
I invite him in. He knows how hard it is but he nods encouragingly and
tells me that he often used to encounter similar challenges.

Sometimes
Orville and Wilbur Wright join me. They’re an interesting pair.
I invite them whenever I find myself falling into the trap of envying
others. I eavesdrop as they mutter to one another about Samuel Langley
who was given $50,000 by the United States War Department to build a flying
machine. In 1903, $50,000 was a lot of money! When Langley’s contraption
crashed into the Potomac, he gave up. Orville and Wilbur remind me that
they persevered year after year, crash after crash, while others got the
press and the awards. In December 1903, the Wright Brothers succeeded.

Another
favorite companion is Ernest Shackleton. Though he usually glowers at
me, whenever I feel weak his visits strengthen me. When his ship, Endurance
was crushed by ice on his Antarctic expedition, he and his men suffered
unimaginable hardship and deprivation. With considerable self-sacrifice,
Shackleton brought every one of his men to safety.

Imagination
is a wonderfully useful tool and developing it allows you to entertain
your own visitors, as I am sure you do. Bringing them into your life allows
you to draw inspiration and courage from them.

Do I
need to know every detail of each exhausting attempt made by Orville and
Wilbur? No, of course not, just as I do not need to know the gruesome
details of Shackleton’s frostbite. Just the fact that the Wrights
made a heavier-than-air flying machine, and that Shackleton brought real
meaning to his ship’s name is enough to strengthen my resolve.

Next
Monday night, at the Passover Seder, we will detail God’s goodness
to the Israelites in a song of fifteen stanzas. Each stanza concludes
with the words, “It would have been enough for us.”

For
instance, we sing, “Had God given us the Egyptians’ wealth
but not split the Red Sea—It would have been enough for us,”
and, “Had God brought us to Mt. Sinai, but not given us the Torah—It
would have been enough for us.”

This
makes absolutely no sense, does it? After all, had God given us wealth
and then not split the Red Sea, the Egyptian army would have overtaken
the Israelites and quickly recovered their wealth, not to mention their
slaves. The whole point of going to Mt. Sinai was to receive the Torah.
How can we possibly sing, Dayenu—it would have been enough for us?

Ancient
Jewish wisdom explains that the song is meant for us today. It isn’t
a historical recollection of 3,323 years ago. In those days, the Israelites
needed the Red Sea split in order to escape their tormentors. However,
for the purpose of inspiring us today and allowing us to draw on the power
of those events, recollecting each isolated instance of God’s goodness
is enough.

Similarly,
details of what the Wright brothers did and what Shackleton accomplished
are way beyond what I need in my study when I seek added fuel to overcome
the obstacles I encounter in my own work. Bringing their basic stories
to mind suffices for me, though for their own lives every last ounce of
resourcefulness and perseverance was needed.

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During
his frequent visits, my father reminds me of one additional truth that
makes all the difference. We never need to stand alone facing the future
fearfully. God is with us; we only need invite Him in. And it is easier
to bring Him into my study than those other guests because it takes no
imagination at all.

May
I encourage you to shop now before our store closes for the holyday by
offering $5 off any order. (Enhance your Passover with Let
Me Go for under $5!) Use the promo code SAVE upon check-out, and stock
up on learning and inspiration.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, known world-wide
as America's Rabbi, is a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and
host of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Show on San Francisco’s KSFO. He
is one of America’s most eloquent speakers and his ability to extract
life principles from the Bible and transmit them in an entertaining manner
has brought countless numbers of Jews and Christians closer to their respective
faiths. In 2007 Newsweek magazine included him in its list of America’s
fifty most influential rabbis.